Burial and/or cremation caskets often include a decorative lid underside, or a casket top interior, for purposes of viewing. In particular, during the viewing period, the casket lid is often opened to permit viewing of the deceased. The lid may fully open, or partially open over the top portion of the body. While open, the casket top interior is prominently displayed. It is thus desirable for the casket top interior, or at least the portion that is visible during the viewing, to be aesthetically pleasing.
To this end, the casket industry has widely employed certain decorative mechanisms in casket top interior design. One common casket top interior design includes rolls and a center panel. Rolls are shaped design features that extend inward from each edge of the casket top to form a picture frame effect. The center panel is disposed within the casket top such that the center panel is substantially bordered by the rolls. Both the center panel and rolls are typically cloth covered and hide the otherwise functional and non-aesthetic underside of the metal or wood casket.
In the past, the center panel and rolls were often assembled prior to insertion into the casket top to form a singular casket dish assembly. To this end, the rolls and center panel were typically affixed to each other via stapling or adhesive. The assembly was then affixed to the casket top via staples or other means. U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,985 to Craft shows an exemplary method of affixing a casket dish assembly to the casket top. The Craft patent shows a channel member that is fitted to the periphery of the casket top and includes a channel for receiving edge features of the casket dish assembly. The channel member traps the edges of the dish assembly in the casket top.
One drawback to the dish assembly shown in the Craft patent and other singular dish assemblies is that they do not permit post-manufacturing replacement of the center panel. In particular, it is often desirable to allow post-manufacturing installation of the center panel, preferably at the premises of casket retailers. Specifically, because of the prominent nature of the casket top interior during the viewing, center panels often have custom-selected ornamental designs. The center panel may include religious symbols, poetry, or other personalized material deemed appropriate for the deceased. The ability to install the center panel by the casket retailer or other lay person allows for the consumer to match a select center panel design with a select casket without requiring the retailer to stock all possible combinations. The completed dish assembly such as the one shown in the Craft patent does not allow for easy replacement of the center panel.
One design that allows for post-manufacturing replacement of the center panel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,877 to Lewis. The Lewis patent shows a dish assembly that includes rolls, a rectangular cap panel, and a removable center panel. The rolls and the rectangular cap panel are assembled into dish structure in a manner similar to that shown in the Craft patent. However, the rectangular cap panel includes VELCRO.RTM. fasteners for receiving corresponding fasteners affixed to the removable center panel. The rectangular cap panel and rolls are then presumably affixed to the casket top in a manner generally similar to that described in the Craft patent. The removable center panel, which may include decorative markings, may then be fastened onto the rectangular cap panel by simply lining up the fasteners on the removable center panel with those on the cap panel.
One drawback of the device described by the Lewis patent is that it requires additional parts, including a second panel and associated fasteners. Such additional parts undesirably increase both material cost and manufacturing complexity.
A need, therefore, exists for a casket top interior assembly that allows for removable decorative center panels without increasing the part count and manufacturing complexity over the dish assemblies with non-removable decorative center panels.